Jinichi Kusaka

Jinichi Kusaka (7 December 1888-24 August 1972) was a Vice-Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Biography
Jinichi Kusaka was born on 7 December 1888 in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy and was educated as a Captain in 1930 in the United States and Europe. Kusaka was promoted to Vice-Admiral in 1940, and on 28 September 1942 he took command of the Japanese 11th Air Fleet on Rabaul in New Britain, leading Japanese planes during the Battle of Guadalcanal. On 24 December, he assumed command of the Southeast Area Fleet and fought against the Americans and Australia in New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands until 6 September 1945, when he surrendered the Japanese forces in the Rabaul area alongside Hitoshi Imamura. He died in 1972 at the age of 83.